The text we just read is the introduction to “the genealogy of Jesus,” which is recorded in detail in the following sixteen verses. An uninformed reading of the New Testament might cause one to wonder why it begins with something as seemingly dull and unimportant as the record of a family tree. Many conclude that there is little of significance to be learned from this catalog of names, and skip over it to begin reading where the “real” action begins in verse 18 of chapter 1. However, this “genealogy” is indispensable, because it lays a firm foundation for everything else that Matthew would write.

The purpose of Matthew in writing his gospel was to prove that Jesus was indeed Israel’s “Messiah,” which is an ancient Hebrew word for King! In fact, in the Jewish mind, the “Messiah” would be the highest, most supreme King—a King above all kings! That’s why John wrote, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16, NIV).

To the first-century Jew, unless it could be proven that Jesus was a legal descendant of the royal line of King David, it was impossible to prove that He is the Messiah—the long awaited King of Israel! So Matthew begins his story where he must…especially if he hopes to convince the Jews that Jesus is indeed their Messiah…with the documentary evidence that Jesus inherited the legal right to the throne of David through His step-father, Joseph! That’s why Matthew concluded his genealogy with the words, “Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 1:16b, NIV).

II. Grace Displayed

There are some quite interesting features in this record of Jesus’ family tree. For example, in the genealogy, four women are listed—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Women were seldom mentioned in Jewish genealogical records. So their inclusion is remarkable in itself, but when one considers who these women were, it becomes even more astonishing! In fact, it is nothing short of a marvelous display of God’s grace.

Tamar. The genealogy includes, “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar” (Matthew 1:3a, NIV). She was one of two prostitutes among these four women. Imagine that, two prostitutes recorded in the genealogical record of our Lord! Moses described a wicked event in Tamar’s life when he wrote, “Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, ‘Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.’ But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so…he refused to give her a child…What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death also. Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, ‘Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.’ For he thought, ‘He may die too, just like his brothers.’ So Tamar went to live in her father’s household…Shelah grew up, but Judah did not send for Tamar to marry him…When Tamar was told, ‘Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,’ she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, ‘Come now, let me sleep with you’…So he…slept with her, and she became pregnant by him” (Genesis 38:6-9a…10-11…13-16a…18b, NIV). It is incredible, to many of today’s legalistic Christians, that God would include a woman of questionable character and sinful behavior in the lineage of His Son. This is certainly a display of His grace!

Rahab. The geanology also includes, “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab” (Matthew 1:5a, NIV). Rahab was both a prostitute and a liar. Who would have thought that she would have been included in our Lord’s genealogical records? Joshua gave us a glimpse into her sin-stained life when he wrote, “Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. ‘Go, look over the land,’ he said, ‘especially Jericho.’ So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.’ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.’ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them’” (Joshua 2:1-5, NIV). Many refuse to believe that God would use a woman who was a liar and a prostitute to fulfill His plan. But He put His grace on display when He did!

Ruth. The genealogy also includes, “Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth” (Matthew 1:5b, NIV). Ruth had been an idolator until she came under the influence of her mother-in-law Naomi and made her famous confession, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16, NIV). Not only was she an idolator, she was a Gentile from Moab…no less. Samuel wrote, “Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth” (Ruth 1:3-4a, NIV). So—putting His grace on display—God chose to include the name of an idol-worshipping Moabite in the family tree of His Son!

Bathsheba. The genealogy also includes, “Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife” (Matthew 1:6b, NIV).Her name was Bathsheba. She was an adulteress, and still she was included in the genealogy of our Lord. She didn’t initiate the sin, and she may have felt she had no choice…after all “David sent messengers to get her.” But she was guilty of adultery. Samuel recorded the scene when he wrote, “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her…Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant’” (II Samuel 11:2-4a…5, NIV). So God chose to put His grace on display by including the name of an adulteress in the genealogical record of His Son!

III. Conclusion

The inclusion of these names in Matthew’s version of the genealogy of Jesus is a subtle suggestion that by God’s grace His Son, “the Messiah,” would provide eternal life for sinners like Tamar, the Jewish prostitute, and Bathsheba, the Jewish adulteress. Paul wrote, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV).

The inclusion of these names in the genealogy of Jesus is a subtle suggestion that by God’s grace His Son, “the Messiah,” would provide eternal life for Gentiles like Rahab the Canaanite prostitute and Ruth the former idolatrous Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9, NIV).

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive the gift of eternal life. He said, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).

Ask God to help you extend to others the same kind of grace God extended to the world when He included in the family tree of His Son “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar…Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab…Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth…Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife[Bathsheba]” (Mathew 1:3a…5a…5b…6b, NIV).